Milwaukee M18 Expansion for 2014
Milwaukee New Product Symposium 2014 – Milwaukee M18 Expansions
Each year Milwaukee Tools puts on a heck of a press event. Most of the online and print publications you know and love send representatives to see all of the new tools that Milwaukee will be launching in the next few months to a year. And 2014 was no exception. As usual, Milwaukee pulls all the stops and brings out a whopping lineup of dozens of new tools and accessories that have either recently launched or will be launching between now and first quarter of 2015.
Here’s the recap:
We spent all day looking at the tools, talking to product managers about them, and of course, testing them out. I’ll follow Milwaukee’s lead and break this out into different categories so you can get a small taste of what we got to see. But first, take a look at this quick video overview.
Milwaukee M18 Power Tool Expansion:
Of course, Milwaukee plans to expand the M18 line, both as the standard M18 line and with the addition of more FUEL tools that sport their brushless technology. In the standard M18 line, we’ve already seen the M18 Jobsite Radio/Charger and the M18 Compact Blower, but coming in October will be an all new M18 Sawzall Recip Saw, an M18 ¼” Hex Right Angle Impact Driver, and an M18 3/8” Right Angle Impact Wrench.
And 3 new the tools we are very excited to get our hands on are the new M18 Metal Shears (3 versions) which will be out in November.
Milwaukee M18 Lighting Expansion:
Last year we saw some pretty cool new lights from Milwaukee, and this year they are bringing even more light to the lineup. The big brother to the M12 Stick Light will be the M18 Stick Light and will be available in October. At that same time, the M18 LED Lantern / Flood lamp will be launched, rounding out the category.
Milwaukee M18 FUEL Expansion:
As far as what’s new in FUEL, there were 6 exciting new products. We’ve already gotten one review in on the M18 FUEL Deep Cut Band Saw, but Brad was pretty stoked to get his hands on the M18 FUEL 7 ¼” Circular Saw. His comment: “It is smooth cutting and has power to spare. I’m really impressed with this FUEL line”. This is the cordless circular saw that really can compete with corded versions while maintaining portability.
Milwaukee has always been a leader in the rotary hammer category, and so they’ve beefed up their cordless rotary hammer lineup by creating two versions of FUEL Rotary Hammers: 1) M18 FUEL 1 1/8” SDS+ Rotary Hammer and 2) M18 FUEL 1” SDS+ Rotary Hammer. Both will be out in October 2014.
We also got to try out the new M18 FUEL Hole Hawg Right Angle Drill. The corded Hole Hawg has been a favorite among pros who need to drill augers up to 1 ¼” and self-feed bits up to 2”, but never before has there been a cordless option that delivers the power necessary to get the job done and to drill not through just one stud at a time, but multiple studs at any given time. This tool changes that, and it does it while being 30% lighter than the corded version. This tool got a lot of “oohs and aaahhs” from everyone at the event. See it in action below:
The M18 FUEL Hole Hawg comes in two versions. Model 2707 features an all metal chuck key and an on-board key holder, while model 2708 features the new QUIK-LOK technology allowing you to change bits quickly and easily for most 7/16” flat or groove shank bits commonly found on augers, hole saws, and self-feed bits. Both models will be available in November 2014.
That about covers the Milwaukee M18 expansion recap. More recaps from the Milwaukee New Product Symposium 2014, coming soon!
Recaps coming soon:
- Batteries and Chargers
- Accessories
- Hand Tools
- M12 and M12 FUEL Expansion
For more info on the Milwaukee M18 Lineup: CLICK HERE
To search for M18 tools on Amazon.com: CLICK HERE